Sachin Tendulkar was reason I started playing cricket, reveals Hanuma Vihari

Sachin Tendulkar was reason I started playing cricket, reveals Hanuma Vihari

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Indian right-hand batsman Hanuma Vihari says Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was the reason he started playing cricket and revealed that he used to cry and unplug the TV when the master blaster got out. Vihari made his Test debut for India at the Oval in the autumn of 2018 against England.

Having now established himself as a veteran in the domestic circuit, Hanuma Vihari has had quite the journey in the sport of cricket. A right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm off break bowler, he was a member of the India Under-19 cricket team that won the 2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Australia. As a child, Vihari was inspired by someone who has been an inspiration for a generation or two, not only in India but worldwide, someone who was the heartbeat of the nation in the 1990s, 2000s and still is for many - Sachin Tendulkar.

The now-Andhra skipper, who has established himself as a mainstay in the Indian Test side, revealed that it was the legendary Mumbaikar who inspired him to take up the sport and, like many an Indian, Vihari, too, was a part of the brigade that switched off the TV whenever Sachin got out. 

"Sachin sir was obviously my idol when I grew up. That was the reason why I started playing cricket," revealed Vihari in Cricbuzz's 'spicy pitch'. 

“When I was young I used to watch him bat and I loved it. In the 90s he was like the king of batting. Whenever he used to get out, I used to cry and unplug the TV - used to do all such things." 

A classic, textbook batsman who considers patience to be his biggest virtue, Vihari announced himself to the international stage with a ton against a world-class Windies bowling attack at Kingston. The 26-year-old revealed that it's the ability to put a price on his wicket he considers as his biggest strength, something that has helped him cement a place in the Indian side. 

"The thing with me is that I'm very stubborn when I play Test cricket. I don't want to give away my wicket easily - that's the quality I have; it's a big strength for me."

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